ATLANTA — Nothing is ever easy for N.C. State team and it wasn't on Sunday but the Wolfpack found a way to pick up a needed road win.
With 18 points from Richard Howell in the first half, and 11 from C.J. Leslie in the second half, the Wolfpack beat Georgia Tech 70-57 in another physical, deliberate, ACC basketball game best suited for Tums stockholders and amnesiacs.
The Wolfpack, as it has all season, put together a stretch brilliance, which was enough to carry it to a 14-point lead in the first half, but the Yellow Jackets jammed the tempo of the game into a grinder, like sausage into casing.
Only two points separated the two teams at opposite ends of the ACC standings with 7 minutes left. Georgia Tech freshman Marcus Georges-Hunt's layup cut the Wolfpack's lead to 51-49 at that point.
State needed a hoop and Leslie, who labored through the first half while Howell sizzled, delivered a clutch, three-point play.
Leslie took Georgia Tech freshman Robert Carter Jr. off the bounce and made a driving layup and then made his free throw.
Leslie, who had only two points in the first half, finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
After N.C. State senior guard Scott Wood picked up a charge on forward Kam Holsey on Georgia Tech's next possession, a layup by Pack point guard Lorenzo Brown pushed the Pack's lead to 56-49.
Leslie drew a double-team after another empty Georgia Tech trip and fed Rodney Purvis in the lane. Purvis was fouled and knocked down both of his free throws for a 58-49 advantage and to effectively close the door on the Jackets.
N.C. State (21-8) improved to 10-6 in the ACC and swept the season series from Georgia Tech (15-13, 5-11).
N.C. State could not have started the game any better, with Howell bulldozing his way to 16 points in the first 12 minutes.
State's defense was active and it was able to get points in transition, mostly due to Purvis' energy off the bench.
With Howell's scoring at will, the Pack led 28-14 before the Jackets made a 16-4 run to cut the Pack's lead to 32-30 at 1:57 with an uncontested layup by freshman guard Chris Bolden.
Georgia Tech was able to get back into the game with nine offensive rebounds. A 3-pointer by senior guard Mfon Udofia cut the Pack's lead to 34-33 with 1:07 left but Leslie fed T.J. Warren (10 points) for a layup with 8.3 seconds left in the half for a 36-33 halftime lead.
Five times in the second half, Georgia Tech made it a two-point game but the Wolfpack never relinquished the lead.
Comments
Not just a win
Mon, 03/04/2013 - 21:02 — shharrisBut road win! In my humble opinion, being able to win on the road or if your lucky a neutral site, is important if you want to get back to or beyond the sweet 16. steve'73
beautiful win
Mon, 03/04/2013 - 13:54 — JPDOhioBeauty is in the eye of the beholder and, like Yar says, a win is a win. What I liked was that every Pack player struggled with something during the game, but found a way to contribute to the W.
Scott had a horrible shooting night, but he led the team in rebounds. CJ struggled (again) at the foul line and still seems to be off his game, but he responded in the 2nd half and finished with 7 boards, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. Tyler only played 11 minutes (it seemed like more), but most came at the end when we needed a good foul shooter. Lorenzo's point production is off, but the rest of his stats were impressive. (It is obvious to me that he is not 100%, which I think is affecting his willingness to attack the rim with abandon like he did before his injury).
All in all, a good team road win. I'll take a dozen or so more like that this month. Go Pack!
Zo
Tue, 03/05/2013 - 11:26 — YAR8packDo you think Zo's hesitancy to attack the basket may be more mental than physical? Granted , I'm 12 years older than Zo and I don't mend as fast I used to, but when I injured my shoulder a year ago while riding mini motard (leaned a bit too hard into a corner) it took me until recently to feel confident/dumb enough to go back to riding as aggressively, even though my shoulder has been fine for a good 6 months. I have no idea whether his injury is still bothering him. High ankle sprains usually take a while to heal. But he looks fine outside of the paint. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there's a mental aspect to his injury that is possibly holding him back. Could be wrong.
ZO
Tue, 03/05/2013 - 12:40 — JPDOhioI don't think he is 100%, but I don't think the injury is restricting him. As you say, he looks fine otherwise, although I am guessing there is some discomfort. You can see it on his face occasionally.
All that said, I think his reluctance to attack the basket is more mental than physical. He attacked a lot before his injury and it is noticably less now. I believe that is the main reason his PPG is down.
He still is very effective, and I don't blame him for being cautious, if that is really what is happening. However, it would be good for him and the Pack if he could get back to doing everything he was able to do pre-injury. They miss that important aspect of their offense.
A dozen or so?
Mon, 03/04/2013 - 14:04 — SurferWhat, no confidence in NCSU making it in to the top 4 of the final ACC standings? ;-)
BELIEVE IT OR NOT
Mon, 03/04/2013 - 17:35 — JPDOhioI knew you would pick up on that. :-)
Opposite ends
Mon, 03/04/2013 - 13:23 — SurferOf the current ACC standings? 4th or 5th place down to 8th place? That doesn't sound like "opposite ends" to me. Perhaps you meant to say "opposite ends of the middle of the ACC standings"? Or perhaps you were referring to the preseason "standings"? (NCSU #1 (that was hard to type ;-) and GT #9)
A W is a W
Mon, 03/04/2013 - 10:20 — YAR8packMany moons ago a favorite coach of mine told my teammates and I "boys, you played like crap. You only scored one touchdown. You missed tackles. Awful. You're garbage. But a W is a W." I'd say the same applies to this game. It was a rather ugly game. But style points don't lead to real points being scored. NC State got the win, and that's all that matters.
Time to focus on beating Wake Forest.
OK GO WOLFPACK!